Well please pass on to them it's greatly missed, the ride home just isn't the same
Who knew we would miss all the yelling

The station manager is on the case, so he'll be after people to get it fixed. The two student engineers who know the system best are on co-op this semester, so getting things fixed has been an issue.

komey1

02-03-2018, 11:17 AM

Agreed.
Additional scholarships have made it easier for savvy college hockey recruiters from other Atlantic Hockey schools to bring in better grade ďAĒ players. RIT has a harder time finding those diamond in the rough type players. So might as well put it in cruise control and see what the playoffs bring. Two point weekends or less at home are not going to climb you in the standings.

It's not just additional scholarships, it's also other teams taking hockey more seriously. Canisius has a new rink. Bentley is getting a new rink. Mercyhurst is getting renovations. I feel that was a big advantage RIT had that has decreased.

That being said, if you look at the stats of the recruits - they are good. However, I don't know if we are comparing them to other teams recruits.

Schmitty

02-03-2018, 12:39 PM

Agreed that CC could do better with the anthems, but getting swept at home by a conference bottom feeder is probably the biggest deterrent for recruits.

komey1

02-03-2018, 01:28 PM

Agreed that CC could do better with the anthems, but getting swept at home by a conference bottom feeder is probably the biggest deterrent for recruits.

Bentley isn't normally a bottom feeder but your point is well taken. The team can't give up 2 goal leads like that. They are lucky it was even that close with all the turnovers that lead to breakaways the other way.

Random stat: This was the 9th straight Friday RIT has lost the game.

Downstate_RIT_Fan

02-03-2018, 01:28 PM

We have watched all this year as the tiger players have been very respectful and do stand at attention and very still respecting both anthems. And it has given us a sense of Pride..

Iím sorry I should of been more clear, my statement about players bouncing around during the anthems was a general statement about what Iíve seen down here at Tate Rink, Armyís home rink, from most visiting teams. I get that players are amped up and have a lot of nervous energy and Iím nitpicking, but since we were talking about anthems.

I guess it is more obvious at Tate as the Army players are always ram rod straight.

FWIW when RIT visited earlier this year, yes, as youíve mentioned, they also were motionless during the anthem, so props to the RIT team and the coaching staff.

Downstate_RIT_Fan

02-03-2018, 01:33 PM

Random stat: This was the 9th straight Friday RIT has lost the game.

For Anybody in the Atlantic Hockey Pool, I hope youíre paying attention. :)

schiegs

02-03-2018, 01:33 PM

As a Bentley fan, I never understood the rather consistent chorus of (some) RIT fans pounding the table for the league to up the scholarship limits and for other teams to improve their facilities. It was often accompanied by "We should be in a better league" sentiments. The inevitable outcome of those limit increases and investments by other programs from the RIT perspective was for parity and to perhaps eventually get passed by in terms of recruiting resources. Are we seeing the beginning of that eventuality?

Downstate_RIT_Fan

02-03-2018, 01:43 PM

. Are we seeing the beginning of that eventuality?

No doubt...

Man time flies, that three game playoff series at the Ritter between our two teams so many years ago gave me a healthy respect for your Falcons, great for the Tigers to win, but also tough for the Falcons to lose. Became a closet Falcon fan after that. So please lose tonight and then good luck the rest of the way (except if you meet up with the Tigers again). :)

notan allstar

02-03-2018, 08:55 PM

I think it's time to come to grips with the fact that we just aren't very good. And outside of a couple of hot playoff runs on the back of one great player, we haven't been very good for a looong time.
Coach Wilson will make the big change to get the team motivated. Heíll take a player thatís scratched and put him on the 4th line as usual. The last 6 yrs. heís counted on 2 lines. Theyíve had 1 winning regular season at 15-14-5. Top 2 lines get the majority of ice time and are complacent the last 2 yrs because they know that theyíll play no matter what. Not one player stands out. There all pretty much equal except for ice time. You have players that there TOI is approx. 20-22 min between normal shifts, pk, pp and have 4-8 goals. They have to mix the lines up. The top 6 have been the same for 2 yrs except for #21. They have nothing to lose. But l guess being .500 or below is acceptable. Change is good.

jflory81

02-03-2018, 09:24 PM

The Tigers are now below .500 in conference play dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season (for reference, this was Madolora's senior season that was largely swallowed up by NCAA shenanigans), and 2011-12 also was the last time the Tigers truly competed for the Atlantic Hockey regular season title. This was two full seasons before the Polleseni Center opened.

If you had told me leaving Blue Cross after that 4-0 thrashing Air Force gave us in the conference final that year that we would be below .500 in league play in the worst conference in the country over the next full cycle and a half of players I would be horrified. and I'm relatively sure not what the administration had in mind when still in the process (at the start of the span) of building a new rink. I think there's need for a serious discussion of whether this truly is the best RIT can do once their division 1 brethern start caring more about hockey, and if not, what they can realistically do to improve the product. Union (and the Ivies, though their prestige certainly gives them a recruiting edge) has shown that you can compete without scholarships, but if it requires a better conference to do so, I'm not sure ECAC is going to be knocking down the door trying to recruit what has become a mediocre long-term RIT team.

blazer777

02-03-2018, 09:30 PM

For Anybody in the Atlantic Hockey Pool, I hope youíre paying attention. :)

You now have to start counting the Saturday games too!

blazer777

02-03-2018, 09:36 PM

As a Bentley fan, I never understood the rather consistent chorus of (some) RIT fans pounding the table for the league to up the scholarship limits and for other teams to improve their facilities. It was often accompanied by "We should be in a better league" sentiments. The inevitable outcome of those limit increases and investments by other programs from the RIT perspective was for parity and to perhaps eventually get passed by in terms of recruiting resources. Are we seeing the beginning of that eventuality?

Winds of change, they're everywhere. Everybody thumps their chest when things are going well in sports but it's tough to keep that going when things go south for a while. We'll see where the rest of the season takes the team and if it ends too soon, there's always next October! P.S., new barns are a curse😊

Downstate_RIT_Fan

02-03-2018, 09:54 PM

You now have to start counting the Saturday games too!

You might be right blaze, I did indeed pick them to split with Bentley, losing on Friday and winning Saturday. Oh well. Iím running out of weeks to catch you. I missed with the Army and Niagara tie too. Picked the Purple Eagles tonight to win. They rang one off the post in OT but that as close as they got.

LtPowers

02-03-2018, 10:08 PM

The Tigers are now below .500 in conference play dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season (for reference, this was Madolora's senior season that was largely swallowed up by NCAA shenanigans), and 2011-12 also was the last time the Tigers truly competed for the Atlantic Hockey regular season title. This was two full seasons before the Polleseni Center opened.

If you had told me leaving Blue Cross after that 4-0 thrashing Air Force gave us in the conference final that year that we would be below .500 in league play in the worst conference in the country over the next full cycle and a half of players I would be horrified. and I'm relatively sure not what the administration had in mind when still in the process (at the start of the span) of building a new rink. I think there's need for a serious discussion of whether this truly is the best RIT can do once their division 1 brethern start caring more about hockey, and if not, what they can realistically do to improve the product. Union (and the Ivies, though their prestige certainly gives them a recruiting edge) has shown that you can compete without scholarships, but if it requires a better conference to do so, I'm not sure ECAC is going to be knocking down the door trying to recruit what has become a mediocre long-term RIT team.

I agree with you, but it's a little disingenuous not to mention going 2-0 in conference finals since 2012 and 1-2 in the NCAA tournament alongside the regular season woes.

Powers &8^]

jflory81

02-03-2018, 10:23 PM

I agree with you, but it's a little disingenuous not to mention going 2-0 in conference finals since 2012 and 1-2 in the NCAA tournament alongside the regular season woes.

Powers &8^]

Regular season records are much better indicators of how good a team actually is, especially when the playoffs are best of 3 followed by single game elimination for the last two rounds. I also think consistently winning at home would have done much more over this span to draw fans and fill the building than making the tournament a couple of times without getting out of the opening weekend. You'll notice I also didn't mention embarrassing first round exits in 2012-13 and last year.

blazer777

02-04-2018, 05:59 AM

You might be right blaze, I did indeed pick them to split with Bentley, losing on Friday and winning Saturday. Oh well. Iím running out of weeks to catch you. I missed with the Army and Niagara tie too. Picked the Purple Eagles tonight to win. They rang one off the post in OT but that as close as they got.
I picked a sweep but the broom went the wrong way. Don't thing I got a lot of points this week

Tom Naeger

02-04-2018, 10:51 AM

I think it's time to come to grips with the fact that we just aren't very good. And outside of a couple of hot playoff runs on the back of one great player, we haven't been very good for a looong time.

Wait, Wait, Wait!!! You are letting one frustrating season diminish what this program has done in the long run. Are you kidding me!?

Everyone has a perfect right to be frustrated this year, but saying that the last two playoff championship were the result of riding a hot player is devoid of reality. Best case you can make is the MGM line year and in reality they didn't carry the team in the playoffs. It was a total team effort including some great play in goal by a goaltender most RIT fans wanted to run out of Henrietta.

I've been tracking RIT recruiting for the last four seasons. The last two season I've expanded it to every recruit in the AHA for a hobby project. RIT has brought in many of the leagues recruits with top hockey resumes. Each of the 2 years class brought in players who turned out great, including one Rookie of the year. I would say each of the last two years that I tracked all AHA recruits that I had a good argument both seasons of RIT having the best recruiting class in the AHA. The recruiting class for next year appears that it maybe even better than the last two seasons, all though I still have most of the rest of the league to breakdown and recruiting for next season is not done yet.

How I see it is a problem I noticed last season that I think was dismissed by the injuries the team had. It's sloppy play, bad decisions, silly penalties, lack of passion, and a darn right inability to respond well to adversity. More or less mental stuff which has been extremely frustrating with me because I agree 110% with Ed that the talent is there. This team didn't just beat one of the best teams in the league, it dominated them. The team has played amazing hockey at times, but also suffered by some mind boggling gigantic moments of lapse in judgement and discipline. I thought they got away with it at times during the first half, but the second half it has 8!tch $l@Ped them. The coaches seem to be baffled, but the frustrating part is that I do agree again with Ed if they can put it together and get the right kind of consistency then they could make a run to Blue Cross and beyond.

Right now this team reminds me of a Herb Brook quote on Eric Strobel, “Strobel has a million dollar pair of legs and a ten cent fart of a brain."

The good news this mental stuff can be fixed with smart play and good old fashion sweat and hard work....

blazer777

02-04-2018, 11:31 AM

I agree with you, but it's a little disingenuous not to mention going 2-0 in conference finals since 2012 and 1-2 in the NCAA tournament alongside the regular season woes.

Regular season records are much better indicators of how good a team actually is, especially when the playoffs are best of 3 followed by single game elimination for the last two rounds. I also think consistently winning at home would have done much more over this span to draw fans and fill the building than making the tournament a couple of times without getting out of the opening weekend. You'll notice I also didn't mention embarrassing first round exits in 2012-13 and last year.

I think you guys both have valid points here:

1. You can't think that all of the other AHA teams wish they would have had the success that RIT has had in the post season as compared to their own. Most are one and done games in the NCAA's when they have gotten there but the Tigers have gone farther than most.

2. On the other side, you want the team to do well during the regular season which brings the fans to the games on the Friday's and Saturday's. Excitement around the team helps a team succeed even more. It' gives them the mind-set that they can do anything. When you are not performing well and pulling out wins by the skin of your teeth and losing the rest, then it doesn't give you a lot of confidence in big games(all of them right now) or in the one and done games.

Here's hoping for better things from the defense and some radio engineers that can fix equipment!

Oh and the Eagles will win tonight because I never pick wrong on the Sunday games. :rolleyes:

schiegs

02-04-2018, 12:55 PM

Just read on another thread that Bentley is now 6-0 at Polisseni? True? Never would have assumed that.

RIT Winters

02-04-2018, 12:59 PM

Wait, Wait, Wait!!! You are letting one frustrating season diminish what this program has done in the long run. Are you kidding me!?

Everyone has a perfect right to be frustrated this year, but saying that the last two playoff championship were the result of riding a hot player is devoid of reality. Best case you can make is the MGM line year and in reality they didn't carry the team in the playoffs. It was a total team effort including some great play in goal by a goaltender most RIT fans wanted to run out of Henrietta.

I've been tracking RIT recruiting for the last four seasons. The last two season I've expanded it to every recruit in the AHA for a hobby project. RIT has brought in many of the leagues recruits with top hockey resumes. Each of the 2 years class brought in players who turned out great, including one Rookie of the year. I would say each of the last two years that I tracked all AHA recruits that I had a good argument both seasons of RIT having the best recruiting class in the AHA. The recruiting class for next year appears that it maybe even better than the last two seasons, all though I still have most of the rest of the league to breakdown and recruiting for next season is not done yet.

How I see it is a problem I noticed last season that I think was dismissed by the injuries the team had. It's sloppy play, bad decisions, silly penalties, lack of passion, and a darn right inability to respond well to adversity. More or less mental stuff which has been extremely frustrating with me because I agree 110% with Ed that the talent is there. This team didn't just beat one of the best teams in the league, it dominated them. The team has played amazing hockey at times, but also suffered by some mind boggling gigantic moments of lapse in judgement and discipline. I thought they got away with it at times during the first half, but the second half it has 8!tch $l@Ped them. The coaches seem to be baffled, but the frustrating part is that I do agree again with Ed if they can put it together and get the right kind of consistency then they could make a run to Blue Cross and beyond.

Right now this team reminds me of a Herb Brook quote on Eric Strobel, “Strobel has a million dollar pair of legs and a ten cent fart of a brain."

The good news this mental stuff can be fixed with smart play and good old fashion sweat and hard work....

They may have brought in a handful of impactful recruits but they have also brought in a much larger handful of very average/below average recruits. And we haven't had a true starting goalie since Madolora left in 2013. Ruby and to a lesser extent Rotolo had their well-timed hot streaks, but in general RIT has been completely unable to bring in a goalie capable of stepping into the starting role and having even above average statistics.

This year we have 2 freshmen goalies who have both started at least 3 weekends worth of games now. Both were highly touted coming in. How's it going?

Christian Short (2-4-0) / .890% / 3.03 GAA - This is bad, especially considering it includes a shutout!
Logan Drackett (6-7-2) / .868% / 3.59 GAA - This is even worse. Completely unacceptable numbers after 15GP.
Ian Andriano (2-4-0) / .877% / 3.39 GAA - After a decent start and even a shutout, Ian's numbers have fallen right into place alongside his compatriots.

As much as we all thought Ruby/Rotolo/Watson/etc haven't been the answer, this years group is even worse statistically. It doesn't matter how good the recruiting classes are unless one of them finally includes a #1 goalie. Until then, we're going to remain reliant on a well timed hot streak come March to make us look good.